


spirits wander forth

by BlueSapphire718



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Spirits, Canon Rewrite, Developing Friendships, Gen, Ghosts, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Spirits, Team as Family, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 12:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21969556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueSapphire718/pseuds/BlueSapphire718
Summary: Adam has always been a ‘Spirit-Watcher,’ someone who can see the spirits of the past.When Keith, three kids, and him rescue Shiro from the clutches of Garrison, he’s suddenly dragged into an intergalactic war, has to care for his newfound friends and family (and ghosts), and fight a family feud he didn’t know existed.(A Voltron AU where Adam can see ghosts, Keith’s father is wondering how his own son is this stubborn like his mother, and Adam joins the crew.Shiro is falling hard again.And the Galra are so much more.)
Relationships: Adam & Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Adam & Keith (Voltron), Adam & Other(s), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Voltron Paladins & Voltron: Voltron Legendary Defender Team
Comments: 22
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

“Just do you know,” Keith says as they race towards the crash site of the ship they’ve seen. Adam glances at the boy with a raised eyebrow, leaning closer to the handles of the hoverbike as they speed up, the man beside him chuckling. “I’m driving back after we see and rescue whoever was on that pod.”

He narrowly avoids being crashed into a cliff when Keith mentions it. “Keith, no. You are _never_ driving this thing when we’re in a rush,” Adam snaps as he focuses his attention on the road. He never wants to suffer it again. “Remember the last time you tried to do that?”

“I... don’t know?”

That little shit.

“You nearly sent us over a gorge!” he snarls out, trying to ignore the way the other man was laughing out loud. Damn Gaven and his ways of finding some serious situations funny. “And then nearly drowned us in a river! A fucking river, Keith!”

“Those were the fun days,” Gaven sighs, reaching out to ruffle Keith’s hair fondly, the boy showing no sign of acknowledgement of being able to feel him. One of the sad facts about ghosts. “Keith’s getting better at driving it in a rush, though.”

 _Getting better my ass_ , Adam thinks as he tilts the hoverbike to the side, allowing Keith to plant the bombs they had. He doesn’t know why he let Keith convince him they should go and see the alien ship (pod), but his curiosity always gets the better of him. He nods towards the boy, before Keith smirks at him and presses down the button in his hand.

The bombs explode in a mix of red and orange, a large billow of smoke drifting off in the air behind them. He can feel the heat, and the icy touch of Gaven’s hand gripping his shoulder as he quickly stops next to a large boulder and motions Keith to go first.

Keith jumps up and rushes into the pod, making him take a breath as he checks his weapons. _That strange energy_ , he remembers Keith explaining to him. _That ship has the same energy that I’m tracking_. Adam isn’t sure why the boy was studying those energy waves, but now isn’t the time to think about it.

“Keith?” he calls, entering the pod with his pistol out, quickly moving through the hallway. Gaven floats next to him, before the ghost rushes ahead. “Keith, where are you?”

“Being in trouble, obviously, that boy of mine,” Gaven growls under his breath.

Adam agrees.

“-and Keith! Neck to neck?” he hears a familiar voice say in frustration. “Oh come on, you actually forgot me?”

“Oh, I remember,” Keith bites back as Adam stares from the doorway, stares at three students that are obviously from Garrison. Fantastic. He places his pistol away, watches them fight. “You’re a cargo pilot.”

“Not anymore, dumbass. I’m a fighter class now, thanks to you washing out,” the other boy (Lance, he remembers) snaps as he and Keith holds onto an unconscious man- his heart stops. _Takashi_ , his mind sings. _Takashi, Takashi, Takashi-_

 _He’s not Takashi anymore_.

Lance looks up to see him before he squeaks in alarm. “Oh my god, is that our history teacher- I’m so sorry, Officer López, but they were kinda-”

“Keith, you’re lucky I modified the damn thing to carry some weight,” Adam forces out, watching Shiro breathe, jerks his head to the doorway in an attempt to not watch him. He can feel Gaven’s gaze on him. “Get moving, all of you. They’re gonna come back soon.”

* * *

Somehow, Keith gets control over the hoverbike and Adam’s lap is straddled by the unconscious Shiro. He can feel his cheeks heat up, can remember the days when Shiro lays his head in his lap and they sit there like that for hours. He loves those times, cherishes them in his heart.

Except the man’s unconscious and they’re ex-fiancés.

The three kids joins them, the yellow one (Hunk) sitting at the end of the hover bike, the glasses kid (Pidge) sits behind him (and is holding onto his waist for dear life), and Lance is on the wing. Adam can hear Keith swearing under his breath as he directs the hoverbike to move.

He’s going to get fired from the Garrison, he knows it.

“Keith, you better not crash this thing again,” Adam hiss as he holds onto Shiro tightly. He can hear engines, before he looks up to see several Garrison vehicles heading towards them. Wonderful. Gaven holds onto his shoulder, the grip making him slightly shiver. “Move it!”

“Wait, he crashed the thing before- oh my god!” Hunk screams as Keith swings the hover bike around and speeds it up the best he can. Adam can now hear the vehicles coming closer and closer to them. “Uh, guys, they’re catching up to us!”

Adam looks over to Lance. “Hold onto T- Shiro,” he orders, handing off his ex-fiancé to the boy as he takes out his pistol. He nearly slipped up on _Shiro_ ’s name. “Keith, drive more carefully, I’m gonna fire.”

“Got it.”

He slowly stands, stabilizing himself before taking up his pistol and raises it. Pulls the trigger, and he hears a loud noise coming from his pistol and the screams of Hunk and Pidge. The vehicle’s windshield that he aims at shatters and it spirals out of control, making other vehicles dodge and continue speeding up.

“Shoot the one at the right, it’s closing in,” Gaven says hurriedly. 

“Keith, turn left!”

“Big guy, lean to the left!” Keith yells as Hunk tilts towards the right, sending the hoverbike to the other side. Adam fires a few shots at some tires, watches them blow as they spiral out of control and stop. “Adam, sit back down, we’re going over!”

He quickly sinks down onto his seat, Pidge holding onto him tightly again as Keith drives the hover bike into the half-opened tunnel. Lance holds onto Shiro tightly, his eyes wide as he stares at Keith and Adam can’t help but curse Gaven in his head when the man laughs and dives towards a vehicle. He slips through the vehicle, obviously to wreak havoc.

That man needs to stop.

The vehicle immediately crashes and Gaven pops up next to Adam.

“G-Guys, is that a cliff?” Hunk asks, looks terrified as he holds onto the back of the hoverbike. He turns around to see an open space in front of the hover bike, where rock meets nothing.

Oh _no_.

“Yep.” He can _feel_ Keith’s smirk.

“Keith, don’t you dare! I told you to never go this route! Turn around, you idiot!”

“No, no, no, no, no!”

“Turn back around!”

“You’re gonna kill us all!”

“Keith! Turn _the fuck_ back around!”

They fly off the cliff anyways, making everyone scream as Keith only turns to smirk at them before turning back. Adam can only pray that they survive.

(They do.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to ghosts and insanity! This fic is a complete rewrite of what happens if Adam joined the crew and what if he can see ghosts?
> 
> I'm hoping to make this at least around 20-40 chapters since the chapters are gonna be around 1000 words, so I hope you all enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

“I hope you have leftover food from last night, Keith,” Adam calls towards the boy, rummages through the cupboards. Hears an affirmative “Yeah!” from Keith, before he manages to pull out a few plastic containers of the dinner they had yesterday, with boxes of snacks he bought last week for Keith.

He walks out of the small room, Keith wiping Shiro’s face with a wet cloth and Lance hovering over with what seems to be cautiousness. Gaven hovers with them (literally), and only looks up when Adam quietly slips the containers and boxes onto the table. The ghost gives him a thumbs-up before he floats to a wall and sinks through.

Probably going to relax from all the stress they had earlier.

“Food!” Hunk cheers, quickly grabs a container and digs into the small meal. Pidge nods her thanks to him as she, too, grabs a snack box and grabs a handful of cereal. “Thanks, Officer López!” comes Hunk’s voice, muffled by a mouthful of food.

“Keith, McClain, come eat,” Adam says instead, nodding back to the two boys ( _He looks like Matt_ , his mind whispers), and hands Keith a container. Lance, after one last look at Shiro, bounces over and takes a handful of cereal from Pidge’s box. Keith grabs the container from him, watching Shiro carefully as he slowly begins to eat.

Adam decides to start with the one question he has. “Cadets, explain to me why you were outside the Garrison last night when you were supposed to be in your dorms?”

All three Garrison cadets freeze, all three staring up at him with slightly opened mouths. He pinches the bridge of his nose, rolls his eyes, and raises his eyebrow at them. “I’m not that stupid, you three, especially if you’re thinking that your own teacher won’t ask you this. What made you decide to come outside?”

Pidge clears his throat. “We saw the alien ship-”

“Pod,” Keith corrects.

“-and decided to follow the Garrison to it,” the smaller boy continues, ignoring Keith’s glare. He’s impressed; many people had cowered under Keith’s glare before. “That’s when we saw the explosions and the guy over there run into it after we saw the Garrison quarantine Officer Shiro and placed him under-”

“They did _what_?” Keith hisses in a quiet tone. “How dare they-”

“I taught you better manners than that, Keith Kogane!” Adam snaps. “Continue on, Cadet Gunderson.”

“... under a drug,” Pidge flatly finishes.

Silence.

_Aliens are coming_ , Adam thinks in a daze as he thins his lips into a straight line. And they have no way to stop them, not until Shiro tells them how he escaped and how to escape the said aliens.

“So... aliens, right?” Lance quietly asks after a moment, looks down at the food he’s holding in his hand. They all stay silent as Adam closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “We have aliens coming here.”

“They could be peaceful aliens?” Hunk suggests, a questioning look in his gestures and eyes. “We can ask Shiro when he wakes up.”

“No way, I bet they’re awesome aliens who can do this and that-” Lance throws wild gestures of exaggerated karate chops and kicks.

Oh. No wonder Iverson cusses them out every day in the faculty lounge after the simulator.

They’re doomed.

* * *

Gaven finds his son sitting on the stairs outside their little shack, staring up at the stars while holding the blade Krolia gave him so long again, to give to their son. He reaches out to ruffle Keith’s hair and he doesn’t miss the slight shiver and flinch Keith does every time he touches his son.

“You look like your mother,” he whispers, sits down next to him and wraps an arm around his boy. Keith’s grip tightens on the blade, and Gaven wishes that he could see the symbol on the blade again. It’s the only thing that reminds him of Krolia, but he respects his son’s wishes. “Getting in so much trouble.”

“Keith!” Adam’s voice calls out, makes him turn to see the man walking up to the boy and places a hand on his shoulder. Gaven reluctantly lets go when the man eyes him. “You should be in bed.”

“Not tired,” Keith mutters. He watches the boy let out a stifled yawn and Adam giving him an unimpressed look. “Okay, maybe I am. So what?”

“Off you go to bed,” the other man says breezily, tugs the boy up with ease and pushes him towards the door of the shack. He only chuckles. “Put that knife away, get a pillow from the drawer and head to bed, young man. I don’t want to see you awake again tonight, or you being tired tomorrow.”

“Adam-”

“Shoo, off you go, young Padawan.”

“Please, never call me that again.”

“Try me.”

They both watch Keith slip back into the shack, the door closing shut before Adam lets out a loud groan and tilts his head back. He takes Keith’s spot on the stairs, Gaven sinking down next to him while halfway disappearing into the wooden deck.

He’s known Adam for many years now, from the day Keith first enters the Garrison, and he knows that the man’s tired from all the incidents today. Knows that Adam is slightly pissed when his hand starts twitching and his brows furrow in concentration. Knows how frustrated the man is.

“Alright?” he quietly asks, places a hand on Adam’s shoulder. The man only shakes his head, opening his mouth to speak.

“... he’s still alive.” Adam seemingly stares off into the open space in front of them, but Gaven _knows_ what the other man is talking about. He’s experienced it himself, when Krolia left to protect him and Keith. The love and pain in Adam’s tone when he speaks of Shiro reminds him of himself and the one who stole his heart. “I thought he was dead...”

“You two have a lot to catch up on,” Gaven acknowledges, tilting his head to the side as his eyes move to the ground.

“I know.”

They both stay silent afterwards, Gaven feeling Adam shaking up under his hand. He looks up to see the man attempting to hold his yawn back, before he lets out a sigh and nudges Adam. Points to the shack while raising his eyebrow as the other stares at him in shock.

“Bed,” Gaven orders. “Big day tomorrow.”

“I’m an adult, Gaven!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I just wanted to say that Keith's father is named Gaven in this story, and yes, he's a ghost. Adam is also very, very done and just wants some peace for once.
> 
> And I lied, this story is gonna be 40-90 chapters long, I am so sorry to burst your bubbles. Episode one is literally already being around ten chapters long, and I don't wanna think for the other episodes at _all_.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro opens his eyes, squinting at the light ( _light, light, light, yellow ishebackonEarth-_ ) as he groans and rolls over on whatever he’s on. This might be a dream, to be on something this soft after so long sleeping on hard floors and shivering for warmth. To accept the fact he’s still a prisoner, someone ( _something-_ ) to provide entertainment.

He closes his eyes again and breathes in-

Meat?

He shoots up, takes in the sight of wooden planks and furniture, and a cloth covering up something on the wall. Three children (humans) are beside the bed, two of them snoring away with one placing their head on the table and breathing quietly. Shiro pulls away the blanket, ready to leave before faint sounds reaches his ears.

Pauses as he strains to listen to the sounds, hearing them grow louder and louder, and he realizes they’re voices.

Familiar ones.

“I did not ask for a week off just because you wanted me to help you with all of this,” one voice snaps, the noise of footsteps approaching to where he is. Shiro immediately stiffens, unsure to get up and see who’s outside. “You’re going to be the reason why I lose my job, you little shit.”

“Yeah, like they’re gonna fire their _only_ ace pilot,” the other voice scoffs, wooden planks creaking under footsteps as the doorknob twists and a man pushes open the door. He’s holding a bag of groceries with the boy he thinks of as a brother ( _Keith’s grown up-_ ).

Shiro can’t help but gape when the man turns around, meeting familiar brown eyes with a twist of yellow. _Adam, Adam, Adam_ , his mind chants. _Adam-_

_“I can’t do this anymore, Takashi, I can’t-”_

“Oh, you’re awake.” His attention snaps back to Keith, who places down a bag of groceries and reaches out to touch his forehead. Adam only turns his back, heading to a room that he’s pretty sure is the kitchen. His heart squeezes tightly at the man’s leave. “I was kinda worried you had a fever.”

“I’m fine,” Shiro automatically says, still staring at the doorway where Adam disappears into. Swallows before he looks up and sees Keith sneak a glance. He shakes his head of his thoughts, curls his hands into fists. “H-How did you even-“

“Long story.”

“Then tell me about it later. We need to find Voltron.”

“Not now, you gotta eat,” the boy snaps, looking towards where the kitchen was. “Adam! You got a meal for Shiro?”

“It's right here, Keith, get it yourself!” Adam’s voice snaps back. By God, he misses Adam’s voice more than he can think. Keith growls something under his breath in frustration, before he stalks towards the kitchen. “Keith! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting a spoon,” Keith’s voice says dryly.

“That is _not_ a spoon, Keith Kogane, that is a _knife_!”

“Uh-huh. What are you gonna do about it?”

Adam lets out a wordless snarl, clatter of pots and pans rings across the tiny rooms, as the man storms out of the kitchen and freezes when he meets Shiro’s eyes. He hasn’t seen his ex-fiancé in so long, not after their fight, Adam’s confession, the Kerberos mission-

He bites his bottom lip as he stares back at Adam, offering him an awkward smile as he opens his mouth to speak. “Hey.”

“... hey.” A sweet, awkward silence enters the atmosphere, which he’s slightly glad for, since he has no idea what to say to the man he loved (still loves). Adam glances towards the side, before those adorable brown eyes look back at him with a flat look. Fuck, did Adam even want to see him? He opens his mouth again to say something and then-

A groan interrupts their moment.

And Shiro lets out a string of curses in his mind when one of the kids looks up tiredly at them.

* * *

Adam watches Keith and Shiro interact near the hut, Gaven hovering beside him as the two hug each other and murmur soft words. He feels a twinge of pain in his chest as he watches them, brushes it off as he turns away to see the ghost raise an eyebrow at him. He doesn’t know what to say to him, doesn’t know if Shiro even wants him back.

He still loves him.

“You two are gonna have to talk to each other soon,” Gaven says quietly, placing a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “And I know that my boy doesn’t see Shiro that way.”

He feels himself twitch at the words, looking over at the ghost with a glare. “No,” he hisses, slams the image that pops up in his mind out of it and makes him feel like his face is burning. It’s like him being a teenager all over again. Being jealous and petty over those who were in love with Shiro. “No, this is your son we’re talking about!”

The ghost only laughs, shaking his head in amusement as a smile forms on his face. “I know,” he says easily as Adam gapes at him. “I was just teasing. I would rip your boyfriend apart if he ever touched my son that way.”

Gaven’s cheerful tone doesn’t make him relax, not even a little.

He only inches away from him.

“Adam?” Shiro’s voice catches his attention, makes him look over at the man who had stolen his heart so many years ago and he can’t help but wonder if they can still be together, after everything that’s happened between them. “Everything alright?”

“I’m fine,” he says. Doesn’t look back at Shiro as he walks back into the shack, meets the eyes of the three (former) cadets who are slowly starting to wake up. Lance is sitting next to Hunk, talking quietly to each other as Pidge types away on his computer.

Weird.

_Pidge looks like Matt._

He files the thought away, before he freezes and turns back around to stare at the youngest boy. _She_ does _look like Matt_. “Cadet, stand up,” Adam snaps out, makes Pidge look up questioningly before he stands up and Adam can feel his face twitch. Why didn’t he see the resemblance before now? Of course she would do it. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“What?” Pidge asks, looks confused as he ( _she_ , his mind supplies unhelpfully) sits back down. “What did I do?”

“I swear you two are gonna be the death of me,” he growls under his breath. “You two, him, and that little shit. You are all going to be the death of me.”

“Uh, Officer López,” Hunk quietly says, makes him turn his stare at him. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but we’re kinda like in the middle of nowhere with the three of us cadets, a missing hero, an expelled student, and you. What are we gonna do?”

That... is a very good point. He clamps his mouth shut, rolls his eyes backwards and he can hear Gaven laughing in the background. “I change my mind. All of you in this mess right now are going to be the death of me.”

Howls of laughter from Gaven rings out as answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely adore writing Adam and Shiro's relationship dynamic, and I promise that I'm very much writing the next few chapters, even with my exams bothering me.
> 
> I also have a new Tumblr blog; [Myakkoh](https://myakkoh.tumblr.com/). If you wanna discuss things and ask questions about this fic, go ahead in there! Hopefully I can give people an actual awareness about when I update. So I hope you join me there!


	4. Chapter 4

“Let me get this straight,” Shiro begins as he stares at Keith, who only crosses his arms as he stares back. Adam pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You got expelled? From the Garrison? For giving Iverson a black eye, Keith?”

To be fairly honest, Adam isn’t sure what he got himself into when he and Keith rescued Shiro. He knows that Keith had been exploring the rocky canyon near the desert, but he didn’t expect the an entire conspiracy theory board about the strange energy he remembered Keith telling him about.

Now, Hunk and Pidge quietly works in the corner, the tinkering of metal and wires as they try to make the machine to guide their way to the source of the energy. Lance sits next to them, watching in interest as he chatters with them. He can’t help but feel proud that three cadets he’s been teaching are using their knowledge.

Against an evil race of aliens.

Gaven insists there are much more kinder aliens out there, but he’ll see for himself.

Hopefully.

“And you didn’t stop him?” says Shiro’s voice disapprovingly. Adam jolts back to reality, stares at Shiro as the other man stares at him. Damn, he wasn’t paying attention to the last few bits of conversation. Keith snorts at those words, making him glare at the boy with a twitch of his body.

That little shit was going to pay later.

“To be fair, Iverson was a jackass when he told us the news,” he answers smoothly, the familiarity of the situation arising. Ignores how Gaven laughs at that, the ghost ruffling Keith’s hair as he floats next to the boy. “Keith being kicked out was an incredible asset, though, since he was able to find out shit.”

Keith nods in agreement. “Yeah.”

“But that doesn’t mean-!”

Adam stiffens when he realizes what he’s done, unwilling to give Shiro any more information than needed. It isn’t that he didn’t feel comfortable talking with his ex-fiancé, but... talking like this, like back then when they were happy with Keith, before it all ended with Shiro leaving them for the Kerberos mission.

It feels wrong.

Especially when they broke up.

He doesn’t know what else to say to the love of his life, when they’re gone off on equally dire circumstances. Adam doesn’t know _what to do_. 

“Adam.” He looks at Shiro’s eyes and keeps his gaze on him. He knows that look, that look of desperation and something else in his eyes, and he doesn’t want to respond to it. He can’t, not after their breakup. Keith’s already left their corner, joining the cadets, Gaven hovering beside him. Their conversation must have finished. “I-”

“Save it for later, Shiro,” he tells the man, and ignores the barely suppressed flinch and the stunned look in his eyes. That’s right. He never used Shiro’s preferred nickname before, since Shiro had already told him to call him Takashi. “We need to find this Voltron thing and then after that’s done...”

Adam looks back at him. “Then maybe we can talk.”

* * *

“So that’s the rock canyon that you were researching on, Keith?” Adam asks as they near the canyon itself, Keith slowing it down to avoid going over the edge of the cliff they stop near. The boy nods, hums as he passes over the small bags they’ve packed with food, equipment, and who knows what else.

All Adam’s packed for himself are the clothes and laptop he left at Keith’s small shack when he was staying over, food, and a few small personal items. He glances over to the cadets, where Hunk and Pidge set up their machine, while Lance shoulders their bags for them.

Shiro stands next to Keith, the two murmuring to each other as Keith gestures to the canyon with one of his arms. Gaven floats next to them, a fond look crossing the ghost’s expression as he gazes at them. He can see how relaxed Shiro is, ever since they’ve left the shack and their own chat that ended with Adam’s promise.

He plans to keep that promise.

“I’m getting a reading!” Hunk calls out suddenly, waving his arm as he stands up with Pidge beside him, the small girl holding her part of the machine. She shifts her glasses, and he remembers the days when he had glasses for everyday use. 

It was only for reading books and other small tasks that he used glasses for now.

They follow Hunk as the other boy leads them past same-looking rock structures, the machine beeping as the only sound breaking the silence. He counts the seconds. The yellow boy looks up, before motioning them to follow him as he breaks into a slight jog. “Down there!”

As Hunk leads them down, he can see a cave being carved into the wall, as if they were made by human hands. He didn’t know what to expect when they walk inside, but paintings and carvings of a lion are depicted on the walls, and Adam can’t help but feel amazed by the details. They must be thousands of years old if the carvings are anything to indicate. The others stare in awe as Lance reaches up to touch one.

A small gasp sounds off behind him, making him turn around to see Gaven stare at the deeper ends of the cave. “The Blue Lion,” Gaven breathes in realization, seemingly unaware he’s staring at him in confusion. “Of course that’s what they’re after. The Blue Lion can be used to form Voltron.”

He falls back from the group a little, looks over to the ghost with a questioning look. “What do you mean?” Adam quietly asks, tilting his head to the side. The ghost startles, looking towards him as he shakes his head. “Gaven, what the fuck do you mean?”

Just as Gaven opens his mouth, the carvings and paintings light up a neon blue, with Keith’s voice shouting, “It’s never done that before!”

Then the ground cracks beneath their feet.

And they’re falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter! I plan to extend the chapters' wordcount slowly throughout the story, so you can read more. The next chapter might be uploaded either this weekend or next week, depending if I can finish up some other fics I have.
> 
> Enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

“Oh my fucking god!” Adam screams as they fall through the ground, immediately feeling water splash him as they slide down a (literal) waterfall. The others scream beside him, before he feels an arm around his waist, and feels air rushing at him.

He closes his eyes and tightly holds onto broad shoulders, whoever’s holding him, before he feels water drenching him and the other person. Feels his head bump against a hard chest when he hears a loud thud, a groan and- oh. So that’s who’s holding him and cradling him in his arms.

Shiro smiles weakly at him when Adam opens his eyes to him, his hands still clenching around the man’s shoulders as he feels his face heat up from the proximity of them. _We’re in a pool of water, don’t think dirty thoughts, Adam_ , he thinks to himself. But Shiro’s close, way too close for Adam’s own liking-

“As much as I absolutely hate interrupting this very, very sappy moment of yours,” Keith’s voice drawls behind them dryly. He turns his head to stare at Keith, who’s already out of the water and drying his jacket. “Get out of there before you both catch a cold.”

“Shut up, Keith!” Adam growls. “There’s nothing between us!”

(If he feels Shiro stiffen from his words, it’s none of his business.)

Gaven waves to him from beside Keith with a cheeky grin, and he feels slightly jealous of the ghost. Ghosts can’t get wet. He slowly lifts himself away from Shiro and shudders when his clothes cling onto him with that disgusting feeling of wetness. 

The other man pushes himself out of the water, and he can see the clothes outlining muscles he didn’t remember Shiro having before. Adam swallows and looks away, feeling his cheeks heating up as he follows the other man out. They’re ex-fiancés, for goodness’ sake, he can’t think of him that way.

“Lovebirds,” Gaven sings in his ears since he nears the ghost and Keith. He scowls at him, before he ruffles Keith’s hair and turns to look at the other cadets. They’re drying their own clothes, Lance having a disgusted look on his face. “Everything’s fine?”

Suddenly, he’s very glad that the bags he used to store their lunches are slightly waterproof.

“Very,” he answers absently as he takes off his bag and his shirt, squeezing out the water. Keith looks at him with a look of confusion before he waves it off. He has no desire to explain to the boy about what he can do. “Just talking to myself, Keith. I’m just glad the bags are okay.”

“Uh-huh.”

Keith turns away with a shake of his head to move over to Shiro, and he has to fight the urge to walk over to his ex-fiancé, too. There’s nothing between them, nothing they can discuss about until they find out what Voltron is. That’s what he promised Shiro, and he intends to keep it.

He checks his bag, slightly relieved to see his laptop still intact as he allows his thoughts to run wild. Everything’s been in chaos ever since Shiro came back. The man somehow came back to Earth with an alien pod, and that somehow relates to the blue lion carvings back in the cave.

Where did Shiro even _go_?

It’s Lance’s voice that breaks him out of his thoughts. “So, is that a giant blue lion machine?”

* * *

“You are the worst pilot ever!” Keith screeches as they all hang onto the chair where Lance is sitting at the controls. The boy only laughs, letting out a whoop of joy as he pilots the lion into an air spin. He’s slightly pissed that it’s like riding a roller coaster.

Except it’s Lance piloting and they’re all standing up and screaming into the abyss.

“Lance, pilot like you actually mean it! Not like you’re doing this for fun!” Adam shrieks beside him as he clings onto the chair tightly. Keith can’t exactly blame the man for freaking out; after all, they landed in a cave after he showed them the lion carvings, a blue robot lion appeared before them, and they got a vision of a giant robot figure.

Adam had blankly stared at them when they spoke out loud about it.

(“You _envisioned_ a giant robot, and this lion’s a... a part of it? _And_ there’s five lions?” Adam pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Oh my god, this is like an anime. Or a cartoon. Don’t tell me this is gonna be like Gundam; we have to fight against someone evil and then save stuff and people. _Oh my god_.”

“Don’t jinx us,” he hisses. “Don’t you dare jinx us!”)

A slight chill on his shoulders makes him shiver as Hunk and Pidge continues to scream, just as Shiro looks as if he’s contemplating death as an option. It’s no surprise there, since this is a ride of _hell_. Adam only stares with wide eyes full of panic.

“Make it stop, Lance! Please!” Hunk begs, looking sick.

“I’m not making it do anything!” Lance yelps as he lets go of the controls. They all stare at him in horror, and Keith considers throttling the boy with his bare hands. However, they’re not falling to the ground and Lance replaces his hands on the controls. “It’s on autopilot!”

“Like that’s any better!” Pidge yells, clutching onto Shiro tightly.

His mind stops once he feels the machine freeze and then charge up into the sky. “Where the fuck are you even taking us!”

“I said it’s on autopilot!” The other pauses as he furrows his brows together. “It says an alien ship’s about to approach Earth. I think it wants us to stop it.”

“What the absolute _fuck_ are they telling you in actual _words_ , Lance?” Adam barks out, sounding like an order and with what seems to be regret embedding in his tone as he hangs onto the chair. He can’t really blame him, since Lance is at the helm.

“They’re just feeding my head ideas! Like it’s just emotions and feelings pushed into my head and making me think this way!” They all stare at him, making him flail his arms into their faces. Keith bats his arm away and hisses at him. “What? It’s true!”

Hunk raises his hand, looking more panicked by the second as they fly higher. “Why can’t we give them this lion and get them to leave us alone again? This is the weapon they’re after, right?”

“They’re monsters,” Shiro answers in a curt tone, his gaze hardening. “They spread like a plague across the universe, and they won’t stop at nothing until everything is _dead_. There’s no bargaining with them, either, especially when they would kill us first than let us explain that we’re giving Voltron to them as a peace offering.”

“... okay, yeah, that makes more sense.”

Keith feels his eye twitch, and looks over at Adam, who returns a deadpan look at him. It’s official; he’s surrounded by _idiots_.


	6. Chapter 6

Gaven stares outside the lion, slightly disturbed by the sight of the Galra Empire cruiser in front of them. It reminds him too much of Krolia’s small Empire fighter, and it makes him worried about Keith, Adam, and the rest of the children. Krolia barely escaped with her own _life_ when they came to Earth with scouts.

How are _they_ going to escape when Krolia nearly lost hers to defend the Blue Lion?

They’ve flown out to space after Lance announced they were to stop an alien ship, the pilot ( _Paladin_ , he reminds himself, that’s what Krolia called them-) flying the Blue Lion higher until Earth is just a sphere behind them. He’s checked, popping his head out to look back.

“Holy _shit_ , is that really an alien ship?” Hunk asks in terror, others looking out in shock as they hold onto the seat. His son reaches behind him to grip the small blade on his belt, Gaven himself reaching out to grip his son’s shoulder tightly.

Adam shoots him a glare, looking as if he’s ready to throttle him. The man points to the ship, and- ah. He wants him to take out the ship from the inside.

“I can’t,” he says apologetically to Adam, shaking his head. Hears Shiro murmur words under his breath, but he can’t clearly hear them. “I don’t know the layout of the ship. I could get lost real easily, and I can’t leave Keith alone.”

The man makes a strangled noise, flails a hand out and nearly smacks Shiro in the face, which makes the neighbouring man squawk out in shock. He allows himself to take it as Adam being exhausted from all the incidents that had happened to them so far.

There’s no rest until they escape the Galra Empire cruiser, though.

Keith lets out a pained groan. “Yes, that’s an fucking alien ship, alright,” he snaps at Hunk, pointing straight towards it. “Oi, cargo pilot, fly this lion from the damn thing if you can! We gotta get the hell out of here! Lead it away from Earth during the meantime!”

“I already _know_ that, _dipshit_ ,” Lance snarls as he quickly thrusts the controls forwards, thrusting the lion away from the ship. Immediately spins the lion around and nearly sends him flying out of the lion. Adam, in turn, lets out a shriek of terror. “Hang on!”

He can see lasers flying past them outside the lion, feeling himself fixated on the familiar purple beams. Shakes himself to clear his head and focuses on their current predicament. He’s no fighter like Krolia, but he’s damn sure he’s going to get his kid and the rest of them out of here. 

Lance has the Blue Lion dip and twist in between the laser beams, avoids getting hit by them. “Okay, I think I know what to do!” he says with a smirk, flying towards the ship.

Pidge glares at him. “Dude, be fucking careful, because this is not the simulator! I really don’t wanna die here, you know!”

“Well, that’s good. I always wreck the simulator!”

“How the _fuck_ is wrecking the simulator _good_?” Keith and Adam demand together in unison, snapping their heads around to glare at Lance. Gaven rubs his hand over his face; this isn’t going to end well for them, isn’t it?

Lance doesn’t answer them. Instead, he pushes one of his controls forward, before the Blue Lion stops mid-air and shoots a beam from its mouth. Said beam destroys part of the Galra cruiser and sets off a familiar explosion. They all gape at the sight, with Lance smirking at the helm.

“Well, then, let’s try this!” the boy says a little too happily for his liking, and sends the lion to claw the surface of the Galra cruiser.

Keith seethes, Hunk screams, Pidge shrieks, Adam is hanging onto the chair, and Shiro narrows his eyes in concentration. “Good one, Lance,” the man says in approval. Gaven doesn’t know whether to try and bang his head against the wall and risk falling out of the Lion, or to just scream.

“Thanks! Now let’s get out of here! And get these aliens away from our planet!”

“And we’re going to die,” Adam mutters under his breath, his eyebrow twitching. “Whoever is out there, help us all. _We’re going to fucking die_.”

Gaven can’t help but agree with him.

* * *

“Fucking hell,” Adam wheezes, staring at the majestic castle, the opened doors, and back towards the others. His mind is spinning from all they’ve witnessed and done within an hour, and he just wants to _sleep_ and _die_. “Lance, I never want to be in the same ship with you _ever_ again. I want someone else at the helm next time.”

He feels sick, and it’s a feeling he doesn’t want to repeat. Not again. _Never again_.

“Tell me about it,” Keith mutters next to him, shifting the bag that he’s been carrying for the past hour. Gaven gives him a sympathetic look and floats next to him, resting his hand on his shoulder. Ghosts are so, so lucky they can’t smell anything, he viciously snarls in his mind.

They’ve narrowly escaped the alien ship, being chased by them and then heading towards the edge of the solar system within seconds. He remembers the looks on the others’ faces when they all saw Kerberos, with Gaven shaking his head with an exasperated look on his face.

Then a _wormhole_ appeared in front of them. A _wormhole_. Adam still isn’t sure whether or not he’s dreaming about it. He still needs to ask Gaven how he knows about the Blue Lion and Voltron, too.

“So, do we just go in?” Pidge asks as she furrows her brows together, lifting a hand to catch their attention. “Like, go into an alien castle with no care whatsoever? Does anyone have a weapon that we could use to defend ourselves just in case they attack us?”

Adam raises his pistol in response just as Keith pats the knife on the side of his waist. The girl raises a good point, which is why he’s slightly relieved he prepared all of them with a bag; supplied with at least a kitchen knife or a fork. Pidge pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Okay, never mind, then.”

“Let’s go inside?” Lance suggests in a questioning tone, pointing towards the castle. Shiro nods before he takes the lead, the rest of them falling in line as Adam takes the back of the group to prevent the younger teenagers from getting separated. Slowly, they all walk into the castle, the sunlight outside of it barely lighting their way.

Even so, he can feel how smooth the floor is, marvels how there’s practically no dust or bits to trip over. In front of him, Gaven floats towards the walls beside them, his hand skimming across it before sinking through. He doesn’t comment on it, doesn’t stop walking until the ghost joins him again, nearing Keith’s shoulder.

A few meters away from him, Hunk suddenly stops and opens his mouth. “Hello?”

He slaps his hand over his eyes as the boy’s voice echoes throughout the colossal, empty hallway. What is with these kids? First they nearly got all of themselves killed, and now they’re just asking for trouble. “Hunk, please. No. Don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” Hunk apologizes.

“I expected the stairs to be bigger,” Pidge says after a moment or two as they delve deeper into the hallway, barely any lights to be seen. Adam tilts his head back to see faint lights flickering above their heads, and watches as his eyes adjust to the dimness of the hallway. It’s strange, since he could barely see anything in the dark back home.

Though, as he watches, with Lance, on the other hand, bumping into Keith. 

“What the hell!” Keith screeches.

Lance jumps from the screech in his ear. “Ow! What the fuck was that for-”

A teal light activates above their heads, startling Lance and Keith from the argument they were just about to have. Adam can’t tell whether he's relieved or not, but there’s more important things to worry about. Shiro stiffens in front of him.

“ _Please hold for identity scan_ ,” a female robotic voice says strangely as light circulates around them. He squints his eyes against the light ‘scanning’ him, the younger kids gazing up in awe as they stare wide-eyed at the light. Shiro only growls under his breath.

“Do... do you guys know what they just said?” Lance asks in confusion.

“No?” Hunk answers back, his expression just as confused as the others.

“Alien languages, obviously,” Keith grumbles under his breath, and Adam can’t help but agree with him.


	7. Chapter 7

The hallways slowly illuminate with light.

Adam isn’t certain if this is normal or not, but the technology here is more advanced than back on Earth. It shows, too, after hearing a robotic voice speak out and then being bathed with light, and no one is controlling it to do so. It’s fascinating to see how technology works on an alien planet, he decides.

“Woah,” Lance breathes out in astonishment as the lights continue to light up down the hallway. “That is so cool.”

The others murmur in agreement.

Pidge gestures towards the said hallway. “So I guess we go down that way?”

“Guess so,” Keith says in answer to Pidge’s question. They all follow where the lights are being lit, with Shiro cautiously peeking around the corner to see if there’s anyone who wants to attack them. When there isn’t, he relaxes and motions for them to continue. 

Gaven floats ahead of them, floating both in and out of the walls as the ghost keeps an eye on Keith. Occasionally, said ghost also shakes his head when there’s no one, so Adam doesn’t bother to lift his pistol, though his hand stays on the handle of it. Better to be safe than sorry, if someone does attack them.

Hunk also gives the occasional “Hello?” into empty air as they travel down through the hallway, his voice echoing throughout the vast castle. No one answers his calls, though he can’t tell whether he should be relieved or not. They then travel down the stairs, their footsteps clanking against the floor with a loud _thud_.

Another corridor lights up before they reach the bottom of the stairs.

“This is creepy as fuck,” Lance comments quietly as they trek towards the end of the hallway. “No one’s even here, and I feel like we’re being watched. Is that normal?”

Adam exchanges a glance with Gaven, who only tilts his head and floats towards the edges of the hallway, passing through Lance. The boy doesn’t so much flinch, even though he can’t see the ghost. He himself shudders at that, making a mental note to figure out why Gaven could pass through Lance.

The ghost had never been able to pass through _him_ , if he can remember correctly.

Shiro shakes his head at Lance’s question. “There could be cameras or something like that,” the man offers quietly as he glances back at the boy. “Maybe someone’s watching us, maybe no one is. Though from my experience right now, they’re _always_ watching you.”

He feels a shiver snaking down his back from the tone his ex-fiancé is using, a tone full of suffering and agony. Lets out a shaky breath as he stops himself from lifting his own hand to place it on top of Shiro’s shoulder.

As if reading his mind, Keith places his own hand on Shiro, the two exchanging glances before Keith places his hand down and the man continues to move. It hurts, to watch the love of his life continue carrying an invisible burden, and to make himself not to shoulder it. He doesn’t have the luxury of doing it now.

“So just to interrupt this very _dreary mood_ ,” Hunk says in a light tone, pointing towards the ends of the hallway. “But there are metal doors up ahead.”

“That’s great,” Pidge deadpans, pushes her glasses up as she rolls her eyes. “Metal doors of doom, here we come.”

“Reassuring,” Keith says with a raise of his eyebrow, but he can see a faint smirk tugging at the boy’s lips as he meets his eyes. Adam shakes his head as he stifles a chuckle and looks in front of them. True to what Hunk said, there’s a set of metal doors and they slide open when they approach it.

Inside, there’s a circle of small sets of metal doors that seems to be large enough to fit at least two of them. Three if Adam counts Pidge. He gravitates towards the centre of the circle, peering at the strange thing with Pidge standing next to him. 

“Where exactly are we now?” Lance wonders as he stares at the circle.

“Dunno,” Pidge answers as she squints at the thing. “This seems to be a control panel. So I’m gonna assume that this is some kind of control room?”

Adam lifts a finger to poke at the strange thing before he hears a deep male voice growl behind him, “Who are you? What are you doing in my castle? And why are your ears hideous as quiznack?”

He feels himself twitch. How dare-

“Okay, first of all, fuck you, buddy! Fuck you! My ears are just fine!” he screeches as he spins around to glare at the offending person. “Second of all, my ears can hear you just fine! So you can go shove a pineapple up your-” He pauses, and stares at the glowering ghost in front of him, strange crescent markings underneath his eyes. “Holy shit.”

“I demand you reveal yourself,” the ghost hisses angrily, hands curling into fists by his side. “Who are you and what are you doing in my castle?”

It’s a ghost in an alien castle. He isn’t sure if he’s hallucinating or not, but then again, they’ve just been flying in a lion robot, chased by an alien ship, and now in alien territory. Of course it’s real. He’s only exhausted from the amount of trouble they’ve managed to get into.

“Adam?” Shiro asks behind him, making his swivel his head to stare. The kids are staring at him with confused looks, Keith with a rare look of worry as Gaven stares in surprise at the ghost in front of him. “Are you okay?”

“Totally fine,” he squeaks out, feels his cheeks heat up from embarrassment. “I’m fine! I’m good, I’m good!”

Shiro furrows his brows, nods slowly as if understanding what he means, before turning back around to observe the room. He swallows, looks at the ghost and forces himself to look away again.

 _Aliens_ , he remembers Shiro telling all of them. _There are aliens who are looking for Voltron_.

But yet, this alien is a ghost, and the castle they’re in seems to be _his_ castle. His thoughts scatter throughout his mind, with something that nudges at him to _ask_. To _know_. The alien ghost stares at him warily, his body tense as if expecting a fight just as Gaven floats towards him with a look of determination.

They speak in low voices, enough to make him turn away to avoid eavesdropping on their conversation, only to find a pale ghost near one set of the metal doors. Pale blue eyes flickers towards him, and he freezes under the ghost’s gaze. It’s like the ghost has a commanding presence, unlike the previous ghost he just met, with an air that speaks of royalty.

 _Like a queen_.

“Well,” the ghost says with a glint of amusement. “It seems Allura and Coran are not going to be alone now.”

Adam stares at her, before Pidge’s surprised shout makes him turn _yet again_ , to find pods of mysterious silhouettes coming up from two of the metal doors.

A quiet groan escapes him.

_This is becoming more shitty by the moment, isn’t it?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May I introduce our new fellow ghosts! Chapters are slowly being written and extended, and hopefully I can soon start updating once a week for this fanfic. I won't be adding term translations unless asked, since I don't want to spoil anything. Hopefully, how I use these terms will be translated directly in the fic.
> 
> If not, feel free to ask down in the comments!
> 
> Enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8

They all gape at the pods.

Hunk is the first to break the silence. “Are... are they dead? Like really dead?” the boy asks, hiding behind the control panel thing as they continue to stare. Pidge shoots him a look, raising an eyebrow at him. “I’m serious! They look like they’re dead!”

“Rise from the dead?” Lance slowly suggests, and Adam shudders from the thought of the zombie movies he’s seen with Keith, Shiro, and Gaven. He considers giving the younger boy a cuff to the head, but it seems Keith has the same idea; the other boy sticks out his middle finger at Lance. “Hey! Don’t you fucking stick that out at me, mullet head!”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” Keith growls, curls his hand into a fist.

If they’re going to have a fight when there’s possibly danger in front of them, he isn’t going to bother with the pleasantries. There are times to have a fight, and there are times to _not_ have a fight. Knowing these two, he’s going to have to stop them.

“Keith Kogane, you throw the first punch and I swear to whoever is out there, I will _make_ you have the worst nightmare possible,” Adam snaps. Keith freezes, glares at him before sullenly looking at Lance, who has a look of triumph on his face.

“Lance, wipe that look off your face.”

He ignores the scowls exchanged between the two boys, feeling slightly exhausted as Shiro looks at him in concern. Waves him off, and lets out a shaky breath before his hand reaches down for his pistol, for reassurance they would be fine. Well, they’ll be fine, right?

Shaking his head from the thoughts that plagues his mind, he turns his attention to the alien ghosts, slightly amazed how fast Gaven managed to talk to them. The first ghost seems much more calmer now, while the second ghost seems to be chuckling at something Gaven’s telling them about.

Which leads to the question; how did he understand the alien ghosts?

Aliens speak a different language than him, didn’t they? If so, then how did they manage to speak to him when he doesn’t have any knowledge of their words and yet, he can understand what they’re saying? _A mystery for later, I suppose_ , he thinks as Gaven circles around the alien ghosts.

A shout from Pidge draws his attention to the girl, then back to the pods, where one teal screen of a pod is vanishing. A young alien woman blinks exhaustively at them from the insides of the pod, before slowly lifting out a hand. They all stiffen, with him about to draw his pistol, and a soft cry escapes the alien.

“Father...”

She falls forward.

“Holy shit,” Lance yelps, leaning over to catch her in his arms. Adam can feel the ghosts floating close to him, and he glances over to see both alien ghosts staring in shock and relief at the newcomer. Do they know the new alien? They did look like the same species... 

Pidge stares. “First alien contact,” she says dazedly.

“Does she need medical attention?” Hunk questions worriedly, glancing towards the alien as she lets out a small groan of pain. Personally

“Concentrate, cadets,” Shiro orders and furrows his brows at the strange sight.

Ketih snorts in amusement. “Not a cadet!” he tells the other man with a smirk, before he inches away from Lance as they watch the alien dazedly look up at the other boy. Gaven resumes his position at his son’s shoulder, and he can’t help but shake his head at the scene. “This should be fun to watch.”

“Fun watching my best friend blush over a pretty alien?” Hunk asks Keith dryly, and Keith only shrugs and glances towards Adam. “And probably get beat up?”

“... yeah. Mostly.”

“Hello there,” Lance cooes with a blush, just as the male alien ghost growls and starts stalking towards him. The other ghost only looks slightly unimpressed, whether it’s from watching the alien ghost try and strangle Lance or from the way Lance is holding the alien, Adam’s not sure.

The alien only furrows her brows in confusion. “W-Where am I?”

“Right here in my arms.”

“This _cannot_ get any worse,” Pidge says flatly, looking seemingly unamused by Lance’s attempts of flirting.

“Watching Lance flirt with an alien? Yeah, it really can’t get any worse than that,” Hunk agrees, pauses and shakes his head. “Okay, maybe not as bad as getting attacked by hostile aliens. That one takes the cake. The _entire_ cake, might I add.”

Adam sighs at the flow of conversation, rolls his eyes. That’s a point that he can agree on with Hunk. It’s the second worst thing he’s seen, watching Lance flirt with the alien, and watches him get nearly strangled by the alien ghost (the hands go right through, and he pretends to not notice the shiver). The alien says slowly, “Your... ears... they’re...”

“Hideous!” the alien ghost calls out, just as Lance looks on in confusion. 

“Hideous,” the alien repeats, seemingly unaware of what the ghost just said. Adam frowns; so aliens couldn’t see ghosts either, just like the others. He saves that small tidbit for later to explore, shares a glance with Gaven. “What is _wrong_ with them? They’re all small and round...”

“Excuse me?” Lance squawks, looks offended as his eyebrow twitches.

“You’re excused, the door’s that way,” Keith calls out flatly, gesturing to the sliding doors behind them. Gaven lets out a groan, pressing his hand against his eyes. At least he’s not the only one who’s tired from all their arguing.

“I wasn’t talking to _you_ , mullet head!”

“Is that the best you can come up with, _dipshit_?”

“Silence!” the alien suddenly yells, shoving Lance away from her and stares stonily at all of them. They all stop their movements, watching her warily as she steps forward, mistrust dancing in her eyes. She stops in front of the control panel thing, glances towards them, asks (no, _demands_ -), “Who are you? Where is King Alfor and Queen Melenor? And what are you doing in my castle? How did you get in?”

Castle? King Alfor and Queen Melenor? He never heard those names in his life, and looking at the others, they haven’t either. The only one who seems to have recognition of anything is Gaven, a hand tapping his chin. He knows that the ghost of Keith’s father mentioned the Blue Lion and Voltron, but he seems to know more than what’s already mentioned.

He has to get the answers out of the ghost soon. And fast.

Shiro lifts his hand to stop the rest of them from talking, stepping closer towards the alien as he tilts his head up. “We came in a blue lion, which led us here. Maybe you can tell us who you are so we can help,” he suggests softly, which makes the second alien ghost gasp in shock.

“Impossible! Alfor, you sent the Blue Lion away!” the ghost hisses as she turns to the first ghost, who reels back as if he’s hit. “How is it that they managed to get here without Blaytz guiding them here? They have no Paladin!”

_Blaytz?_

The other ghost throws his hands up in complete exasperation. “How should I know? We have been stuck here for a rather long time, my dear!”

“I am Princess Allura of the planet Altea,” the alien answers in a strong voice, fists curled at her sides as azure eyes blaze with anger. Adam feels himself taking a step back from her. “How do _you_ have the Blue Lion? Where is its Paladin? Unless... how...” Her voice cracks. “How long has it been?”

* * *

She floats forward, darts in the hallways where many sentries clank against the metal flooring. It’s still a wonder from how she still didn’t get lost here, what with the hallways and doors looking the same, despite the numbers and words on each plate and hologram.

Sinks through the wall and nearly fades through someone dressed in thick robes and a hood covering their face as they walk quickly. She sucks in a breath as she leans forward and sees the familiar sickly yellow eyes that seem to glow with hatred. There’s no mistaking who this is.

Her target is found.

The High Priestess.

Following the High Priestess, she can’t help but note how wrinkly hands clench and unclench from being fists, makes her wonder what exactly got the High Priestess into this state of utter madness and hatred. Hopefully she’ll be able to glean information from the meeting between the Emperor and the High Priestess soon.

Sentries passes them without a second glance, making way for the High Priestess as she heads towards where the Emperor resides. The throne room, she realizes with a sinking dread, the said place where Zarkon deals with traitors and disobedient soldiers alike.

Metal doors slide open before them, and she darts inside, sticking to the walls as the High Priestess shuffles forward towards the Emperor. “The Blue Lion has returned,” she rasps, the same voice that had haunted her for years before and after death. “And I feel Altean energy resurfacing.”

Altean energy? There were rumours she’s heard before heading for her target, that some Alteans still live, but this... this confirms it. An Altean is still alive, and the Blue Lion returned back to space? This is better news than she had hoped to discover, something that will raise _hope_ for the others.

Leans slightly forward before jerking back when the Emperor’s head twists to look at the High Priestess. She cannot allow him to see her; that would spell disaster and her current occupation is needed. Breathes in relief when he doesn’t spare her a look, but she tenses to quickly leave if spotted.

“Alfor’s daughter is still alive, then,” the Emperor softly growls, and she stiffens. Alfor? _King_ Alfor? The former King of _Altea_? His daughter is still _alive_? _How_? The Emperor repeats the question dancing in her mind, though she knows he can’t read it. “How is that possible?”

“I know not, _Vhylnez_ ,” the High Priestess hisses back just as softly. “But... it is time to reclaim what is rightfully ours. For good.”

“Yes.” She doesn’t bother to lean against the walls anymore, sinking halfway through as she strains to listen to the Emperor’s conversation. “We shall wipe that foul race out of existence and the universe forever, and take back Voltron.”

She needs to warn the others about the Emperor’s threat, and about Voltron returning. There has to be some way for Voltron to contact them before the Emperor captures what could be one of the only things stopping him from controlling the entire universe. Everything is at stake, and if she has to risk her soul for that, so be it.

“Contact my commanders, High Priestess,” the Emperor orders with a slow drawl, snaps her attention back on the horrid being. “I want Voltron.”

The High Priestess bows low. “Of course, _Vhylnez_.”

She falls back from the wall, and finds herself in another room with several sentries standing on guard. Grimaces before she quickly floats forward, towards where she knows she will be safe for a little while. Needs to warn the higher-ups and commanders about their new threat and potential ally.

There are perks to being a ghost, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Allura! She's gonna be fun to write once I get past all of this, and I'm excited to also introduce this new character that seems to be spying on the Emperor. She's a minor character, if I have to be honest with myself, but she'll appear more often later on in this fanfic.
> 
> Questions? Ask down in the comments, and I'll try to get to it as soon as I can.
> 
> Enjoy!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be spontaneous, now that I have a lot more free time and less homework to focus on. Questions? Shoot them down below and I'll try my best to answer them!
> 
> Enjoy!

Being clueless is an understatement.

“How long since it’s been what?” Pidge asks, breaking the silence in the air and furrows his brows in confusion. Lance looks over to his squad member in confusion, before peering over towards Adam and Shiro. The two men are both sporting thoughtful looks, Adam glancing over towards empty space and back to the alien.

Weird. He wonders what Adam is thinking, but it’s hard when he’s more used to Officer López barking out orders to pay attention in class, an angry expression when calling out names and explaining stuff to him.

The alien, Allura, only glances at the small boy and walks to the thing in the middle, places her hands on it. A teal-coloured hologram pops up, translating mysterious words onto it as Pidge looks at it in shock. “So _that’s_ how it works,” he mutters with wide eyes. “That’s incredible...”

He has to admit that Pidge is right; it _is_ fascinating to see how holograms worked in an alien environment, not to mention how it popped out of nowhere. It’s even more advanced than at the Garrisons, which is considered those who have some of the most well-advanced technology on Earth.

Then again, they’re in space, and aliens seem to have better technology than them.

Startles out of his thoughts when the second pod beside him dematerializes the shield, before he stares in shock at another alien with a large, orange mustache stumbling out of it. Sharp purple eyes widen before the alien lets out a shriek. He winces. That is a _loud_ scream, even worse than the time Veronica screamed when they were younger and there were bugs.

“Enemy combatants!” the alien yells before jumping up and kicking towards him. Lance yelps, moves back, the alien sliding past him and slamming into the other pod. The alien twists around and glares, clenching a hand into a fist. “Quiznack! You are lucky that I have the old case of the sleep chamber knees!”

The _what_.

“Otherwise,” the alien continues, seemingly oblivious to his confusion, and makes exaggerated movements while narrating his moves. _Either the alien’s a lunatic_ , Lance thinks, slightly bewildered, _or he hit his head_. “I would wrap you up like this, done you in like this, and one, two, three, sleepy time!”

It’s finished with a snap of fingers and a dazzling smile.

They stare at him. “What,” Hunk finally says.

“I don’t know what just happened,” Lance confesses, eyeing the alien carefully. “I really don’t.”

“That’s kinda impressive, actually,” Adam admits with a small chuckle, lifting a hand to cover a smile. He doesn’t know why the man would even think that the alien’s moves were impressive, but he can’t really judge. He’s already done questionable things himself.

A sharp intake of breath catches all of their attention as Allura stares at the hologram. “This is impossible,” she mutters, stares with wide azure eyes as she shakes.

“What is it?” the other alien asks, turning from them to look at her. “Princess?”

“We... We’ve been asleep for _ten thousand decaphoebs_!”

Keith throws his hands up into the air, looking frustrated from all the information they’ve just been fed. He can’t help but agree with him, even though they’re rivals and he hates agreeing with him. “Is this Sleeping Beauty? Because I can’t recall someone being able to sleep for _ten thousand whatever_.”

“Years,” Adam calls out. He’s not even going to question how the man knows that.

“Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have all been destroyed,” Allura continues, seemingly ignoring what Keith said as she brings up another hologram, typing in something. The raw grief and fear in her voice makes him stop, and feel a little horrified.

A genocide. That’s exactly what Allura is describing. He’s read history books back at home about entire genocides of people, and the deafening silence about them when he tried to see how people reacted to them. It’s horrifying, terrible, and he doesn’t know what to do to help the alien woman to ease her pain.

Never has he been so good at hiding his emotions, especially right now.

Hunk looks as horrified as he is, while Pidge seems to be fidgeting with his fingers with a blank look in his eyes. Keith doesn’t look away from Allura, though he looks stricken with sadness and tense shoulders. Adam and Shiro don’t move, though Adam looks slightly more upset than usual.

Allura looks towards the other alien, her hands curling into fists. “Coran, our entire civilization is gone. Father is gone. Mother is gone. Everyone is gone,” she whispers, then into a harsh growl. “Because of _Zarkon_ , they are all _gone_.”

“Who’s Zarkon?” Adam breaks in, glances towards Shiro worriedly. The other man looks slightly breathless, scared even. His mouth seems to be moving, but Lance can’t make out what the man’s talking about.

“Zarkon was the Emperor of the Galra, a monstrous creature that was the enemy to all free sentient beings.” Allura’s gaze sharpens as she glances towards the hologram. He tilts his head to the side, agreeing with her that he wasn’t going to face someone as horrible as that. “We should be glad that he’s dead.”

“No.” They look towards Shiro, who steps up to meet the alien’s gaze. “He’s still alive. I was his prisoner, from what I can recall right now.”

“The Galra can only live to two thousand decaphoebs,” the other alien says grimly (Coran, if Lance remembers what Allura called the guy), stroking his mustache thoughtfully. “How is that possible?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s true,” Shiro says apologetically. “He’s searching for something, or a superweapon, called Voltron.”

Silence circles around them, as Allura seems to be in deep thoughts. Lance stares at her, before glancing towards Hunk, who returns an uneasy smile back to him. They both didn’t know what’s happening, and so did Pidge and Keith. Only Adam seems to be remaining calm, his gaze sharp on Keith.

“Zarkon,” Allura finally speaks, her gaze hardened with resolved determination, “is searching for Voltron because he knows it’s the _only_ thing that can defeat him. And _that_ is why we must find it before he does.”

Lance exchanges a glance with his squad members.

_Just what did we get ourselves into this time?_

* * *

He’s kneeling before the Emperor on the bridge and he hates it. Absolutely hates how he must pretend to be loyal to this madman and juggle his duties at the same time. There’s no telling what the others will see if he doesn’t keep his position and see what kind of dangers they will face if he doesn’t warn them on time.

A hand places itself on his shoulder, and he has to suppress a shiver from how cold it is. He glances to his side to see a pale blue form of the ghost who elected to be his comrade for this operation. The ghost only smiles viciously as they both listen to their commander drone on and on about the superiority of the Galra Empire.

“We are lucky that Zarkon cannot see me right now,” the ghost comments beside him, makes him shoot a sharp look towards the other.

_You believe so?_ he thinks sarcastically, before flitting his gaze towards his commander, towards the Emperor. There’s always been something so unsettling about Zarkon, about how he acts and how he speaks with a dangerous drawl. But he can’t hesitate, or else the information he desperately needs will be gone.

“Vrepit sa!” his commander finishes, thumping his hand over his chest plate. He does the same, watches as the hologram of Zarkon’s visual flicker and disappears, and stands to stretch his poor legs as the ghost laughs. Bites back a sigh when the ghost circles him, and his commander looks at him. “Lieutenant, set course for Arus.”

“Sir!” He salutes, and only relaxes his shoulders when his commander turns around and types in the coordinates for the planet his commander wants. The ghost hovers at his shoulder, pokes one of the buttons, the hand sinking through.

“Stop that,” he hisses under his breath.

“Yes, yes, I can most likely self-destruct this ship if I sink through it,” the ghost says dryly.

His fingers twitch in annoyance, but he knows what the ghost is actually capable of. Knows full well how much the ghost means by those words. There’s no telling what would happen if he _did_ let the ghost loose on the ship.

It spells disaster, that’s for certain. And he can’t allow that.

Closing his eyes to try and suppress a headache, he reopens his eyes to see the ghost giving him an amused look, and he reaches down to grip the handle of his blade. Feels the steady pulse under his claws, and he inhales slowly so he doesn’t try to strangle the ghost. Why must he deal with this?

Something beeps on his belt, causing him to look down to see his comn flaring to life. Of all things to happen to him-! Curses under his breath when his commander gives him a deadly look that tells him to take it, before he salutes and ignores the quiet cackles coming from the ghost as he storms away from the bridge.

“To the storage room?” the ghost asks with a smirk, as he gives a deadpanned look and walks ahead, the comn still beeping. Dodges the sentries’ usual patrols, heading towards the lower levels of the cruiser. He types in the code when he finds an empty storage room, locking it behind him before flicking the comn on.

The familiar codename leaves him closing his eyes with a bitten-off groan, despite how experienced he is when dealing with those who are like him. “Sen with Razeem,” he snaps into the comn.

“Pror with Ezru, Sen,” the familiar voice calls across the comn. “Are you headed to Arus?”

“I was, until you decided to call me when I was on the bridge,” he growls, presses back the flare of annoyance as he stares into the dim room. The ghost lets out a laugh beside him, and he glares. “What do you need? Is it about the Princess of Altea? And the Voltron Lions? If so, I already know.”

A quiet pause of noise greets his ears, before the voice answers him. “Partly about that, but Leader wanted to let you know that we secured one of the bases in your commander’s sector. You are also, after your commander’s demise, to enroute back to the rendezvous point.”

It’s a headache, to try and murder his own commander in his sleep, but his commander is a paranoid _vrok_ er and changes the code to his room every quintant. Closes his eyes and feels his claws curling into a fist as his other set of claws tightens around the comn.

“The commander, if you did not realize, Pror, is practically indestructible with sheer _paranoia_ ,” he sneers. “I would _appreciate_ it next time if you called when I prepare in my room.”

“Indeed, like you could when you are going to capture Voltron, Sen,” the voice responds dryly, and he can hear the faint sound of echoing laughter and feels his mouth slightly quirk up. “The universe’s only hope that you will most likely allow them to take the Red Lion. Am I not correct, dear friend?”

He quietly snorts, hiding his amusement as he speaks again. “I am your senior, if you forgot, Pror,” he tells the other voice flatly. “But I will keep your suggestion in mind. Tell Leader that I expect those with Cregti or Nazrak to pick me up once my commander is assumed dead.”

“Understood. Now, about the Princess and Voltron, Leader wants to leave them to their own devices. We are not to engage them. Proceed with the usual missions and caution, sir.”

“... of course, and Pror, we are of the same rank. Even better yet, you are already part of the higher-ups. _I_ should be the one saying ‘sir,’ despite my seniority over you.”

A static, breathy laugh escapes the comn, and he can imagine codename Pror leaning against the wall and laughing quietly without allowing anyone to suspect anything. There’s no reason to stop fearing something will catch wind of their conversation, but for one moment, one tick, he can relax. Just listen to his comrade laugh and wheeze.

Sometimes he wishes things were simpler, where he can face everyone again without the threat of Zarkon or his commander looming over his head. Where he doesn’t have to worry about murdering sentient beings for the Galra Empire to keep up appearances. Where he doesn’t have to worry about his pride getting caught if he is.

Well. All good things have to come to an end.

“Pror, we will have to cut this short, I should be near Arus soon.”

“Of course, Sen,” the voice answers with a grin in their tone. A pause, before the voice adds on much more quietly. “Would you like me to send her a greeting?”

It’s not even a yes. “Please. Vrepit sa.”

The comn clicks off without an actual goodbye; he’s strangely fine with that. He doesn’t need to continue worrying when the ghost touches his shoulder, and he shivers from the chilling touch. The ghost only smiles sharply with fangs. “What shall you have me do?”

“Get to a few of the sentries, Razeem,” he says without missing a beat. “Let us see if the Paladins of Voltron will allow some sentries to guide them to the Red Lion.”


End file.
